Terrorism trumps peace talks
By MICHAEL D. EVANS
Published: August 1, 2007
It's a sorry state of affairs when the protectors of Mecca are so afraid of Muslim terrorists that they back out of their own peace plan. And it's a sad confirmation of the fact that, until the war on terrorism is won, peace in the Middle East is going to remain an impossibility.
On July 16, President George W. Bush proposed holding an international conference later this year aimed at restarting peace talks. He said the parley would be "a moment of choice in the Middle East" and administration officials hoped that the leading moderate Arab country, Saudi Arabia, would attend, even though it does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. After all, it was the Saudis who proposed the original version of the plan behind the peace talks in 2002.
Suddenly Saudi Arabia dropped its initiative for a land-for-peace deal between Israel and the Muslim world over apparent fear of al-Qaida attack or worse – a coup attempt, an Israeli intelligence official said last week.
"We estimate the Saudis got cold feet over suspicions of Iran and fears of terror attacks sponsored by Iran and al-Qaida," the official was quoted as saying.
The Saudis' fears of possible violence are well grounded. Although he is best known to the world as an international terrorist mastermind, the Saudis know Osama bin-Laden as a native son who started al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia --- and who has pledged to overthrow the "insufficiently pious" Riyadh government.
A Saudi spokesman said Riyadh is sticking to the agreement between Fatah and Hamas and urged the rival factions to make peace with one another and lead the Palestinian Authority together.
Saudi Arabia is said to fear moves to isolate Hamas, because this would only drive Hamas closer to Iran, which supports it financially and with weapons, and further radicalize the Palestinian extremists.
Besides dealing with Iraq, Bush intends to make a major push for peace between Israel and the Palestinians before he leaves office. His regional peace conference this fall is to be led by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and include high-level participants from Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The conference is to be held in the United States, an Egyptian spokesman said.
At the Egyptian resort of Sharm e-Sheikh this week to prepare for the conference, Secretary of State Rice signed a joint statement with Egypt, Jordan, and six other Arab endorsing the original 2002 Saudi initiative as "one of the foundations for Middle East peace."
The United States, which lists Hamas as the terrorist organization it is, is throwing political and financial support behind PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Bush's message to the Palestinians is that they must choose between the suicidal violence of Hamas and the peaceful route to Palestinian statehood represented by Abbas.
The Saudis aren't the only Arabs with doubts about the conference. Arab League chief Amr Moussa said last week that a Middle East peace conference should be sponsored by either the United Nations or the Quartet (UN, United States, European Union, and Russia).
While Moussa may have been signaling concern that the Bush conference might generate more heat than light, some Arab pundits have even suggested that the conference is a ploy by Bush to distract attention from the war in Iraq.
Abbas, grateful for any encouragement, welcomes the conference. Not unexpectedly, Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel, rejected Bush's invitation.
For Israel's part, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert publicly welcomed the idea of a peace conference at a gathering in Jordan in May. He told a parley of Nobel Prize winners and young peace activists looking for a new approach to peace: "We heard about the Arab Peace Initiative, and we say come and present it to us. You want to talk to us about it; we are ready to sit down and talk about it carefully," Olmert said. If invited elsewhere to discuss it, he said, "I'm ready to come."
Published: August 1, 2007
It's a sorry state of affairs when the protectors of Mecca are so afraid of Muslim terrorists that they back out of their own peace plan. And it's a sad confirmation of the fact that, until the war on terrorism is won, peace in the Middle East is going to remain an impossibility.
On July 16, President George W. Bush proposed holding an international conference later this year aimed at restarting peace talks. He said the parley would be "a moment of choice in the Middle East" and administration officials hoped that the leading moderate Arab country, Saudi Arabia, would attend, even though it does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. After all, it was the Saudis who proposed the original version of the plan behind the peace talks in 2002.
Suddenly Saudi Arabia dropped its initiative for a land-for-peace deal between Israel and the Muslim world over apparent fear of al-Qaida attack or worse – a coup attempt, an Israeli intelligence official said last week.
"We estimate the Saudis got cold feet over suspicions of Iran and fears of terror attacks sponsored by Iran and al-Qaida," the official was quoted as saying.
The Saudis' fears of possible violence are well grounded. Although he is best known to the world as an international terrorist mastermind, the Saudis know Osama bin-Laden as a native son who started al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia --- and who has pledged to overthrow the "insufficiently pious" Riyadh government.
A Saudi spokesman said Riyadh is sticking to the agreement between Fatah and Hamas and urged the rival factions to make peace with one another and lead the Palestinian Authority together.
Saudi Arabia is said to fear moves to isolate Hamas, because this would only drive Hamas closer to Iran, which supports it financially and with weapons, and further radicalize the Palestinian extremists.
Besides dealing with Iraq, Bush intends to make a major push for peace between Israel and the Palestinians before he leaves office. His regional peace conference this fall is to be led by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and include high-level participants from Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The conference is to be held in the United States, an Egyptian spokesman said.
At the Egyptian resort of Sharm e-Sheikh this week to prepare for the conference, Secretary of State Rice signed a joint statement with Egypt, Jordan, and six other Arab endorsing the original 2002 Saudi initiative as "one of the foundations for Middle East peace."
The United States, which lists Hamas as the terrorist organization it is, is throwing political and financial support behind PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Bush's message to the Palestinians is that they must choose between the suicidal violence of Hamas and the peaceful route to Palestinian statehood represented by Abbas.
The Saudis aren't the only Arabs with doubts about the conference. Arab League chief Amr Moussa said last week that a Middle East peace conference should be sponsored by either the United Nations or the Quartet (UN, United States, European Union, and Russia).
While Moussa may have been signaling concern that the Bush conference might generate more heat than light, some Arab pundits have even suggested that the conference is a ploy by Bush to distract attention from the war in Iraq.
Abbas, grateful for any encouragement, welcomes the conference. Not unexpectedly, Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel, rejected Bush's invitation.
For Israel's part, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert publicly welcomed the idea of a peace conference at a gathering in Jordan in May. He told a parley of Nobel Prize winners and young peace activists looking for a new approach to peace: "We heard about the Arab Peace Initiative, and we say come and present it to us. You want to talk to us about it; we are ready to sit down and talk about it carefully," Olmert said. If invited elsewhere to discuss it, he said, "I'm ready to come."
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